ESPN Town Hall Meeting: Image of the Black Athlete

In the one field where talent should rise above any other superlative – race is still a factor.

While many voices in the community offer their opinion on sports matters, the issues and topics discussed are blights for a society so enamored with reason and approach as into why certain races are viewed differently in America. Since the turn of the twenty century, black athletes have become dominant specters in many particular sports such as track & field, golf, basketball and football to name a few. When a black athlete is in trouble, the media seemingly has done everything in its power to paint negative images and attempt to play watchdog and police over actions as opposed to the crimes committed by white athletes.

As the worldwide leader in sports, ESPN conducted a town hall meeting with many black journalists, coaches and public figures to speak their minds on the issues at hand. Some were blatant truths and others left for puzzling remarks. Nonetheless, kudos to ESPN for even giving this kind of forum an arena to be held.

About The Author

Brandon Caldwell is the founder & editor-in-chief of Day & A Dream. His work has appeared in VIBE, Complex, EBONY, the Village Voice, the Houston Press, Houston Style Magazine, DJBooth, The Sports Fans Journal, and more. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc

One Response

Lebron James is being villified for racist reasons only. What did he do for the city of Cleveland, but bring a success the city nor the Cavaliers never experienced. He gave the city 7 years of his NBA career to build a team around him that would allow him to compete for a championship. Most players will only give an owner 5 years and some less than that. If the owner is not committed to doing that for their franchised player, then what else can the player do but go elsewhere, where his or her opportunities appear better. Looking at the Cavaliers after losing their key player, tells us more of what the owner wasn’t providing, oppose to what LeBron brought to that team. The Cavaliers are a terrible team and if Anderson Varajao leaves they will be in that funk for a long time. The owner was not committed in building a team around LeBron, but, enjoying the notoriety and economic windfall having LeBron, brought. LeBron saw the racism throughout his 7 years in Cleveland and figured he had to exit, but even in exiting, brought another million dollars to underprivileged children in his home state. Has never been in trouble and yet, the owner of the Cavaliers had fans up in arms to the point of burning LeBron’s jersey. That was stupid, in a few years that jersey would have bought them a refund for their season tickets which, now post LeBron, is worth about the price of toilet paper used to wipe their racist asses. It was akin to burning a cross on a black person’s lawn…Racism in America is at an all-time high in terms of the economic benefits derived from the play and athleticism of these black athletes. Black people have always been the engine behind America’s prosperity, whether it was during slavery times, or just selling newspapers. Black people are always the focal point of the mainstream media, when, one does something immoral or wrong. However, the same emphasis is not put on the white athlete or the white man, in general. The media is forever trying to low-ball the actions of the white criminal, and highlight the actions of the black wrongdoer, such as, Ben Rothlisberger, Brett Favre, the Loughner asshole, and the guy who recently shot and killed a female sheriff in Ohio. It always seems to be a mental or error in judgment where they are concerned and the media makes up excuses for them, because it is a direct reflection of their race. Black folks feel the same way about their kind, except, no media to use for their excuses. America truly needs to dialogue about the racism that has creeped into the very fabric of the American society and without that dialogue, America will continue to be on a downward spiral, straight to the pits of HELL.
Let’s talk America about slavery and it’s affect on our nation as a whole. Let’s talk why blacks are 12% of the total American population, but, 80% of the prison population. Let’s talk America, why most blacks attend substandard schools, live in substandard communities, having no banks or grocery stores, only churches and liquor stores intertwined throughout the communities. Let’s talk America, about why the wealthy feel they should not have to share their wealth with other ethnicities, yet, are afforded, what is known as “white privilege” which could be described as not having to have a vote every seven years to determine whether they could still be consider as citizens or have the right to vote, let’s talk America about the all-white juries that freed a knowingly guilty man that killed a black person, or how many black men are put on death row for killing a white person. Let’s talk America about the Constitution that was written by the white man and for the 21 year old white man without considering the effect it would have on other ethnicities years later. Let’s talk America about the Freedman’s Bureau and the land that was given, then taken back from the black person and is now a billion dollar resort, i.e., Hilton Head and surrounding areas. Let’s talk, America about the requested study for reparations to the ancestors of black slaves that has lingered in Congress for the past twenty some-odd years, without a burp and the easiness in which Holocaust victims received their billions and continue to receive their billions because they went to Congress with an asset management plan, whereas, the black peoples leader (John Conyers) a career politician, asked for yet another study of the effects of slavery on present day blacks, that still hasn’t taken place………..The image of the black athlete is the least of it, but a microcosm of all that is wrong in America and the racial divide that continues to simmer just below the surface of a failing economic America………Let’s Talk!!!